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Rounds 11 & 12 Race Report

Silverstone

Following the success at Castle Combe, the team were eager to improve the car’s performance and believed that an engine change before Silverstone would provide more power. A number of students returned to Swansea prior to Silverstone and after a lot of hard work the engine had been changed and the car prepped for the penultimate weekend of the Monoposto Championship.

The grid for the weekend took an unusual form with all classes running together increasing the size to 54 cars. On Saturday morning 54 cars headed to the assembly area ahead of the only qualifying session of the weekend. Ten minutes before the session was due to begin the heavens opened leaving the track damp and the team debating a tyre change.

Tim stayed on slick tyres for the session and the pack headed out on to track. After posting a number of quick laps the track had dried and the session took shape. After 20 minutes out on track Tim qualified 23rd overall with a fastest lap of 2:25.379 placing him 11th in class.

By the time the cars headed out for the first race of the weekend the weather had cleared up. As 54 cars headed into Copse on the first lap there were plenty of nervous team members on the pit wall but after a 2:37.2 lap Tim came round in P24. After 3 laps of the race the safety car was deployed with Tim in P24. After 3 laps behind the safety car, racing resumed with 2 minutes left of the session. Tim finished P25 overall and 9th in class.Once the car was returned to the bay, the engineering team decided to change the gear ratios in order to increase speed on the long straights at Silverstone. With the next race 24 hours away there was plenty of time to work on the car.

The car was soon back together and the students were left to sort through the wreckage of their tent that had been destroyed by the heavy winds. After a better night sleep in the structurally sound trailer the team were up and working on the car once again for the final race of the weekend.After Saturday’s results Tim was 12th overall in the Championship heading in to the next race.

After heading to the assembly area the team waited in the pit lane for the race to begin, however following the green flag lap there was a significant amount of oil on track and the start was delayed and the race shortened to 15 minutes.

When the race began Tim had a brilliant start gaining 3 places initially putting him 8th in class. The oil on track continued to cause a problem and the safety car was deployed once again whilst Tim was in P25. With 2 minutes remaining of the session and still running behind the safety car, a car stopped out on track and the decision was made to red flag the session. Tim finished P25 overall, 13th in class.

The team felt the weekend had once again been a success and the engine change had been a great decision providing more power. With one final round to go of the Monoposto Championship the team are feeling confident they can put in a good performance at Snetterton.